Improved rail way rail



v tic-ation, in whichidentit wat tent @ttyl .EDWIN n. SHEPARD, or seRANToN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Parafia. 102,601, dated May 3, v1870. Y

` IMPovED RAILWAY RAIL.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of-tne saine.

--three-part rails, in which the head-or upper portion is embraced and supported by two bases or lower p'or- 'ytions, all three being secured together and in proper relative'fposition 'by means of bolts or rivets.

- Three-part rails are again divided into subclasses by certain. distinguishingfeatures of construction, andthe particular form to which my improvements. are more especially adapted is know-n as th'e Latrobe rail, in which the shank of the tread is made wedging, having vits .widest end down, so as to be .clasped between jaws formed uponthc inner faces ofthe two bases, in such manner that, when the parts are riveted or bolted tolgether, the tread cannot have an upward movement relative to the bases without spreading the, latter. apart.

One of the principal causes of failure in this rail was this: The tread would be swaged and drivendown .ibetween the bases as the vparts became 'accurately fitted to each other, thus crowding the wedging faces from each other and allowing a little play,.which, by the passage of trains, rapidly increased, and soon hammered out-and broonied up the parts to an e/:tent which rendered them useless.

My inventionhas for itsl object the remedyng of this defect, and consists in combining, with a compound rail of the abovedescription, an automatic fastening device'which will promptly follow upA any mutual adjustment or wear between the diterentportions of the rail, preventing fall looseness and 'consequent wear,as willlbe fully'nnderstood from the following descriptionolthe constructionand operation of the fastening;

. In the drawing- A represents the head portion or tread of the rail, the shank, a, of whichis-formed at its lower end, substantially as shown at a.

The two bases, B, conform in their general outline ,to the form shown in the drawing, being provided with inclined or wedging faces-b, adapted to engage :with faces a on tread A, for a purpose hereinafter explained;

Shanks or ribs of the rail. v. C is a nut, .having athread'of the ordinary descriptionengagin-g with a `,thread/upon bolt C, but the -innerl face .of saidf'nnt is groo-ved, the grooves intersect-- ing the center of the perforation. 'D is an elliptic springer washer, provided with a rib extending across its liter or upper face.

E is a supplementalwasher, of leather orY other elastic material, placed under the elliptic washer'D;

I donot deem it' necessary 'to enter intoa detailed description of these fasteniiigdevices, as they form the subjeetof-another application, 1-

The operation of-my improvementsis as follpws': Vlhen .the rails are rst laid they fail of mak-ing 'a perfect joint, owing to hertan unavoidable'imperfections, but, as theybecome swaged together bythe ac- .tion of passing trains, the shank a isdriven down b etween the shanks of hase-.13, thereby forcing the inclines a away from inclines b. Now, when the parts are merely riveted or lordinarily -bo'lted together, .this creates a looseness, allowing'an upward and downward movement-of thehead relative to `the base, which re.-

sults in a rapidvdestrnction of theuail.v But', with my improved fastening, all this is remedied, and the durabilityof the rail is greatly increased/,because theelas ticity of washers'D and E compel bolt C to take up the slack as fast as it may occur', and no serions looseness can occur, from the fact that the ribsj and grooves upon nut C and elliptic washer D prevent nut from backing olf. l

- I do not claim' broadly the combination of a selftightening device with a compound railroad rail, as `that is shown in aformer patent of mineghut lVhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters A- compoundrailroad rail, consisting of a central tread with a wedged-shaped shank, confined between two corresponding wedge-shaped recesses in the base pieces, in combination with a selftightening device, substantially as set forth.

EDWIN R. SHEPARD.

Witnesses:

. A. A. CHASE. f

H.. H. DOUBIaEDAY.

G is a bolt' passing through suitable slots' in the' 

